Stats. 2001, Chapter 804 (SB 588),
which becomes effective on January 1, 2002, adds section 1771.2 to the Labor
Code to authorize a Joint Labor-Management Committee to bring a direct action
in court against an employer who fails to pay prevailing wages as required by
state law. This provides a new and distinct remedy for a Joint Labor-Management
Committee that might otherwise seek to intervene in a contractor or subcontractor's
appeal (from an Assessment or Notice of Withholding of Contract Payments) under
Labor Code §1742 and these regulations.

The Director has made the following
substantive changes to the regulations originally proposed in the Notice of
Proposed Action:

Section 17202 [Rule 02] includes two additional definitions
for the terms "Joint Labor-Management Committee" and "Rule"
as those terms are used in these regulations.

Section 17208 [Rule 08] is
being adopted in the form proposed as Option A with a new subpart (c) extending
intervention rights to an employee, union, or Joint Labor-Manage-ment Committee
whose complaint led to the Assessment or Notice at issue in the review proceeding.
Other language was added to clarify that this Rule provides the only basis for
intervening in one of these cases, that the Hearing Officer may limit the manner
and extent of an intervener's participation, and that a person need not seek
intervention as a condition for pursuing other remedies that may be available
to that person.

Section 17212 [Rule 12] was
modified to include a requirement that attorneys and authorized representatives
identify the client on whose behalf a brief or other written communication is
submitted.

Section 17230 [Rule 30] was
reorganized and amended to provide two exceptions to an otherwise strict policy
against continuances - (1) continuances of 30 days or less that are joined in
by all the parties, and (2) continuances requested by a contractor or subcontractor
seeking review who did not wait for the full 60 days available to file the Request
for Review.

Section 17245 [Rule 45] was amended to specify that prevailing wage determinations,
precedential coverage decisions, and wage data studies and reports issued by
the Division of Labor Statistics and Research are among the items of which the
Hearing Officer or Director may take official notice.

Section 17262 [Rule 62] was
amended to permit (but not require) court review petitions to be served on the
Director and Labor Commissioner respectively by serving the offices of the Hearing
Officer and the Labor Commissioner's attorney in the review proceeding.

Section 17264 [Rule 64] was
added to disclose how the Director intends to respond to court petitions and
to specify how a party may request the Director to take an active role in a
particular case.

Except as set forth above, there
are no other changes in applicable laws or to the effect of the proposed regulations
from the laws and effects described in the Notice of Proposed Action.